Crocs
The American shoe brand Crocs just announced its newest shoe offering, a pair of $120 cowboy boots. But are they really boots?
This shoe company, which reinvented the modern-day clog, is leaving their new offering’s interpretation totally up to you, the consumer. These black, mid-calf, shiny boots — made in Crocs signature rubber-like material — feature a metallic embroidery detail and a spinning spur on the back.
And if you think they are ugly, then you’ve played into the brand’s purpose — to shock customers with ugly footwear styles that only amp up the debate between the lovers and haters of the brand.
“Our goal is not to make the haters love the brand," Crocs CEO Andrew Rees told the Business Insider earlier this month. "It's to exploit that extrinsic tension because it creates opportunity, it creates PR, it creates media, it creates interest. It creates a whole lot that would cost you a fortune to buy in other ways.”
Outside of creating unique footwear, Crocs has also collaborated with Kentucky Fried Chicken and Balenciaga, which have helped spread the word about the brand on the internet. And these collabs plus limited edition offering have paid off. Earlier this year Crocs announced that it was poised to reach $400 million in sales by year’s end.
The fact that most people find these shoes ugly has only helped Crocs gain a footing in its respective market too. The company reiterated this point in a New York Times article that ran in October. "We love creating things that nobody thinks we can," Heidi Cooley, the company's CMO told the Times. "It is disruptive, and it allows Crocs to leverage what we believe is a competitive advantage.”
According to Cooley, the cowboy boot idea was inspired by memes shared on social media by customers and then decided on in a 12-minute meeting. "We don't overthink it," Cooley said. "Just when I thought crocs couldn't get any weirder...they make a cowboy boot version WITH SPURS.”
